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Light means fast, fast means longer. Those six words, found on the homepage of the alpinrunning website, perfectly encapsulate the philosophy behind this stripped back, barebones form of alpinism. It’s all about freedom. The freedom to not only travel further, but also the freedom to experience the mountains in a purer and more unhindered manner. Read more – ‘Totalpinism: Kilian On The Art Of Alpinrunning’.

The Skyrunning Ultra carnival rolls into Big Sky resort, Montana, USA for this weekends grand-finale. Make no mistake, The Rut 50k is the real-deal. A bona-fide, white-knuckle ride of a mountain race. Euro-inspired but well and truly, undoubtedly, Montana-ized. Read more – ‘Inside The Rut, With Mike Foote.’.

Just how epic is this photo from renowned Salomon lensman Damien Rosso? There’s probably more mountainrunning-awesomeness per pixel on offer here than almost any other trail photo I’ve had the pleasure to cast my eyes on… Read more – ‘Matterhorn Ultraks 2014 Eye-Candy’.

Simon Freeman, editor of the alternative running magazine, Like The Wind, is excited. ‘We’re launching a Pop-Up in central London for the next issue,’ he says. ‘This will be a physical home for Like the Wind for a week in September or October where we will have film nights, inspiring talks, workshops and, of course, […] Read more – ‘Like the Wind Magazine: Provoke The Stoke’.

Make no mistake, with the launch of Suunto’s third-generation Ambits this September, the Finnish company are taking their popular GPS watch far beyond it’s training tool roots. The shift from ANT+ to Bluetooth connectivity is a major move that opens up the Ambit to becoming an integral companion to our connected lives. Read more – ‘Ambit3 – Suunto Future-proofs it’s Flagship’.

Take two freakish mountain runners, let them loose in the remote Norwegian Arctic wilderness and leave them to ski, run and dream up routes that take in the best summits, primo views and gnarly terrain — basically everything that gets their blood-pumping and lungs burning. The result is Emelie Forsberg and Kilian Jornet’s Tromsø Skyrace. […] Read more – ‘Talking Tromsø Skyrace with Emelie Forsberg’.

After I published the article about the new updated Nike Terra Kiger 2 & Wildhorse 2, I got a lot of requests for some photos of the new updated features. I’ve been running in the Kiger 2 for the past month or so and can only say that the shoes are unreal. So here’s some […] Read more – ‘Up Close With The Nike Terra Kiger 2’.

It’s almost a year since Nike released their much-lauded, much-loved Terra Kiger and Wildhorse trail shoes on an unsuspecting public. If the initial release was low-key, the resulting glowing reviews and testimonials have, in the subsequent months, elevated both shoes to the top of the pile for many runners. Now, with the imminent release of […] Read more – ‘Nike Terra Kiger 2 & Wildhorse 2 | The Inside Story’.

Kilian should lose more often. There’s no malice intended, it’s just that when he is does fail to top the podium, as at Western States in 2010, he and the S-LAB designers get busy — seriously busy. Sense footwear, the hydro glove and the awesome soft-flasks are all concepts whose creation was sparked by that […] Read more – ‘Beyond EXO: S-LAB clothing’s new direction’.

Dakota Jones didn’t just win the mens race at Transvulcania in 2012— he owned it. So much so, in fact, that his hiatus from last year’s event left a vacuum that even a Kilian Jornet course record couldn’t really fill. El Presidente was, instead, off doing rad stuff in the mountains of Alaska. ‘A partner […] Read more – ‘El Presidente Ha Vuelto — Dakota Jones’ Transvulcania Re-Run’.

Bill Bowerman would be pleased. The co-founder of Nike, and one of the most successful coaches in US running history, had a passion for the trail. That passion came, not just from his own Oregon University cross-country camps, but also, further back, to his grandparents — pioneers on the famous Oregon trail during the great […] Read more – ‘Nike Trail Team: Back To The Roots’.

It’s eleven years since Fernando González and a few friends had a brainwave — attempt to run the ancient network of paths and trails that connect the West and East Coasts of the Canarian island of Gran Canaria. It would turn out to be, not only the Canary Island’s first Ultra, but Spain’s too. From […] Read more – ‘Transgrancanaria: A Brief History of an Island Ultra’.

Receiving a set of photos like the ones Suunto sent me has caused my post warm-weather-trail-running holiday blues to take a turn for the worst. It’s a darn shame, the recuperation was going pretty well. However, the stunning photos of their new Ambit-wearing ambassador Emelie Forsberg enjoying a day on the trails with Kilian Jornet, […] Read more – ‘Talking Suunto & Photoshoots with Emelie Forsberg’.

I arrive at a place, high up in the French Pyrenees, in the village of Font Romeu, where log cabins and huge, beige canvas tents lie dotted on a hillside under tall pine trees. The large wooden sign at the entrance reads ‘Huttopia’ and although it sounds like I’ve stumbled upon some San Francisco hippie […] Read more – ‘King Salomon, Font Romeu And The Making Of A Classic’.

The Skyrunning Vertical Kilometer Series wrapped up on Friday with an epic night race from the shores of Lake Garda in Limone, Italy. With the sun having set on a beautiful late-autumn evening and the course, Vertical Grèste de la Mughéra, enveloped in an inky darkness, almost 200 runners set off for the finish line, […] Read more – ‘Limone Xtreme Vertical Kilometer: A Sensory Trip’.

Skyrunning’s 2013 finale. The Skyrunning World Series returns to it’s Italian heartland this weekend for the 2013 swan song – the Limone Xtreme. This event will bring the curtain down on both the Vertical Kilometer and Sky series, while last weekend’s UROC wrapped up the Ultra series in what has been another incredible year for […] Read more – ‘Limone Xtreme’.

I think it’s safe to say that Jony Ive, Apple’s design guru, didn’t spend too much time worrying about trail or mountain runners when he and his team were designing the iPhone 5. I can’t really imagine him waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, proclaiming, ‘What about the ultra-runners!?’ […] Read more – ‘LifeProof Fre iPhone Case’.

With the Leadville 100 kicking off in little over a weeks time, I thought I’d pay homage to the great race with a review of the New Balance Leadville 1210 shoe. The 1210 is NB’s nod to the famous Colorado 100 miler – a shoe created for, and inspired by, the legendary Race Across The […] Read more – ‘New Balance Leadville 1210’.

For me the definition of Skyrunning is pretty much summed up in this photo of Marco De Gasperi. In a world were we are bombarded and bamboozled with images, one comes along that simply grabs you by your rosy red checks and demands to be looked at. Read more – ‘The Dance’.

To get to the actual beginning of the Salomon Sense story, back to the real source of the tale, we must travel all the way back to 1988. It was then, twenty five years ago, that a couple of seemingly unrelated events occurred that would set the trajectory of two guy’s careers – trajectories that […] Read more – ‘Trail Blazer – Creating the Salomon Sense’.

For about 6 days at the beginning of May 2013, Hotel Sol on the black sands of Puerto Naos’ southern shores was the centre of the mountain running universe. As the official hotel of Transvulcania it literally crackled with pre-race nerves and buzzed with the sound of millions of megabytes of photos, audio and video […] Read more – ‘Transvulcania 2013 | A Different Perspective’.

Some people would de anything for a kiss. That’s the privilege on offer for the finishers of arguably the toughest 100 miler of them all, Hardrock 100 – to kiss the rock emblazoned with the Hardrock logo. The rock reads: Hardrock Endurance Run- 100 Miles – Hard & Tough. If there’s a person out there who gets […] Read more – ‘Talent & Talons: Joe Grant’s Hardrock Weapons.’.

ITT could just as easily stand for ‘It’s Treacherously Technical’ but no, it does in fact stand for Ice Trail Tarentaise. With the race now only a few days away, the International Skyrunning Federation has put together another excellent race preview detailing the mouth-watering field that is set to tackle this unique mountain race. In […] Read more – ‘Ice Trail Tarentaise Preview’.

This story begins in Grenoble, an attractive city in south-east France. It is through here, in this city of almost 200,000- known as the ‘capital of the Alps’ that a river flows. Its water has the distinctive alpine-look, that sage green, glacial colour that gives a clue to it’s icy origin high up in the […] Read more – ‘Ice Trail Tarentaise | Flirting with Alpinism’.

About a month ago a press-release dropped into my inbox with the title ‘Inaugural Lesotho Ultra Trail attracts world class field.’ I was intrigued. I vaguely knew that Lesotho was a small country surrounded on all sides by South Africa and that it would surely make an exotic location for ‘Africa’s first Ultra SkyMarathon’ and, […] Read more – ‘Skyrunning: The South African Dawn’.

Natalie White, Inov-8’s marketing manager and Skyrunner, stated recently that ‘Ultimately, brand awareness,’ was the benchmark on which their rookie year with an International Team could be deemed a success or not. It’s very early days but, damn, Inov-8 are so hot right now.. If we are talking purely Skyrunning, then we have only had […] Read more – ‘Instant Traction | Team Inov-8 hit the ground Skyrunning’.

While descending Boulder’s Green Mountain in June 2011, Anton Krupicka caught his left toe on something and hit the deck. What sounds like an innocuous tumble ended with a broken leg and ten weeks of rehabilitation. During the latter period of those rehab weeks, as a way of getting up into the mountains, Anton hiked […] Read more – ‘Grand Kru’ | Talking 2013 With Anton Krupicka’.

Joe Grant is en route to La Palma for his second Transvulcania race- the difference this time is that he will be freshly shod with Inov-8 trailroc 235’s as part of his recent sponsorship deal with the UK based company that is wholly dedicated in it’s pursuit of minimal, innovative footwear and the sport of […] Read more – ‘An Inov-8 shod Joe Grant + The Transvulcania Course = Showtime.’.

I’m hiking dow the zig-zag path on the cliff face down to Tazacorte beach on La Palma, when I hear the light, fast steps of a seasoned mountain runner behind me. As the figure glides by it turns out to be no other than Timothy Olson, finishing up another glorious run up the mountain on […] Read more – ‘Talking Transvulcania With Timothy Olson.’.

I’m sitting outside a small rustic cafe on a little square in Los Llanos- La Palma’s second capital and finishing point of Transvulcania. The 5th edition of the now famous mountain race is a little over a week away and I’m waiting for last years women’s champion and course record holder- Anna Frost. When she […] Read more – ‘Pre-Transvulcania Interview With Anna Frost’.

The whispers started around about when Kilian Jornet showed up in Chamonix for the 2009 UTMB wearing what looked like, for all intents and purposes, a waistcoat- albeit an extremely technical looking one. Hindsight tells us that what he was in fact wearing was an early prototype of a hydration pack that would prove to […] Read more – ‘S-Lab’s New Adventures In Hydration.’.

It seems with each passing week as if this skyrunning season, starting in just a few weeks on that jewel of an island- La Palma, is shaping up to be a watershed for the sport. There is a definite sense of anticipation, a palpable tingling of excitement as everything falls into place, stars align and […] Read more – ‘The Rise Of The Sky Teams.’.

Julio Cabrera Rochas had read about runners who raced across mountain ranges. He had seen their pictures online from the Alps, Pyrenees & Rockies. Sweat soaked and dirty, hands-on-knees power hiking up sinewy trails, far below them the clouds resembling a sea of marshmallows. The year was 2008, and Julio, the then Minister of the […] Read more – ‘Sea to Sky- The Making Of Transvulcania.’.

Embracing the act of running with a sheep on my back. The first I heard of Icebreaker, the New Zealand Merino wool garment pioneers, was back in 2005 or 2006. A work colleague had just returned from a year in New Zealand, supplementing her snowboarding by working in an outdoor store. She raved about a […] Read more – ‘Shear Joy’.

The original New Balance Minimus arrived amid much fanfare and expectation in 2011- a time when the barefoot-brigade were in full voice, Born To Run was a top-seller and it seemed like only a matter of time before runners were out on the streets burning their support shoes. So in the midst of this five-fingered-feeding-frenzy […] Read more – ‘New Balance MT10v2 Review’.

The original version of the MT1010 launched last year as a beefier alternative to the MT110- a shoe that retained the 4mm drop and rock-plate of the ‘110 but added an extra degree of cushioning in the form of a slightly higher stack-height and a RevLite midsole. July 2013 sees the launch of the second […] Read more – ‘New Balance MT1010 v2 Preview.’.

I was beginning to think that all running jackets where pretty much the same. Sure, they all look a little different and fit a little different but in principal they all claim to have some or all of following features The lightest-ever fabric The most breathable fabric High wind resistance High water-repellency Active/Athletic/Performance fit ..Don’t […] Read more – ‘Patagonia Houdini Jacket’.

2012 was something of a breakthrough year for the International Skyrunning Federation. Their ‘Skyrunner World Series’ attracted the cream of international trail and ultra running to the start lines of many of their spectacular races and the general consensus was ‘mind-blowing’. The jaw-dropping and eye-popping locations and lung-burning steep and technical courses, not to mention […] Read more – ‘Skyrunning: An interview with Lauri van Houten’.

“Bryon Powell from iRunFar here…”. The words that begin almost all of iRunFar’s pre and post-race athlete video interviews has become something of a catchphrase for the man who’s passion and dedication for the sport of trail and ultra running has taken him on a journey from high school cross-country rookie to the editor-in-chief of […] Read more – ‘Bryon Powell Interview’.

Right now, Swedish trailrunner Emelie Forsberg is ensconced deep inside the Arctic circle in the stunning town of Tromsø, Norway, where she lives and studies. Outside the sun still has a few weeks before it ends its winter hibernation. It seems like the perfect setting for some reflection on a year that began as a […] Read more – ‘Emelie Forsberg Interview’.

Ok, you got me, the Knog Blinder4 is not really, on the face of it at least, a running related item. So why am I reviewing it here on RunTramp? Well, because they are so damn good thats why and also because I am sure that a lot of runners out there have bikes too, […] Read more – ‘Knog Blinder 4’.

Salomon’s S-Lab rewrote the rulebook on how to construct running packs when they launched the Skin 5 and then the Skin 12 packs. I remember first getting my hands on the 5 litre and it almost scared the life out of me! I was overwhelmed with the technical feature-set and it took me a while […] Read more – ‘Salomon S-Lab Skin 2 Belt’.

Wilderness in the ‘hood. There are always trails to be found, even in the middle of big and not-so-big cities, it just takes a little sense of adventure and in some cases a bad sense of direction to find them. Some people see them as rundown old industrial areas awaiting renewal yet to me they […] Read more – ‘Urban Trails’.

My good friend Abel from UltraLifeTeam down in Galicia, Spain caught up with Canadian trail-running phenom’ Adam Campbell recently and got to find out what makes him tick, his future running plans and coming 2nd at the the inaugural UltraTrail Mont Fuji this year- his first 100 miler. The interview can be found in Spanish […] Read more – ‘Adam Campbell Interview’.

Introduction. The Marmot Essence was one of the first stripped-down, minimalist micro-shells on the market when it arrived a few years back. The jacket has gone through something of an evolution since then- dropping some features such as the latex cuffs while gaining others that were missing from the first generation including underarm ventilation. The […] Read more – ‘Marmot Essence Jacket.’.

Malmö, my home city, is flat. So flat that a suburb known locally as ‘Backarna’ meaning ‘The Hills’ in Swedish- is, in fact, merely a few bumps in the road. Its not just the city that suffers from this lack of vert´, the surrounding countryside follows suit- the highest point rising 220 meters above sea-level. […] Read more – ‘Kullaberg Calling.’.

Introduction Cascade Designs- Therm-a-Rests parent company- know a thing or two about revolutionising outdoor sleeping having invented the self inflating mattress back in 1971. That original idea has been redesigned and refined over the ensuing years to a product range that to this day sets the standards for comfortable & lightweight camping mattresses. Not one […] Read more – ‘Therm-a-Rest NeoAir X-Lite’.

I lace my running shoes and take the first stride. Then another. And another. I feel my legs adjusting to the days tempo. Some days I run fast, other days slow. I have done this now for 150 days in a row. Everyday since New Years Eve 2011. Six countries. Arctic cold & Tropical heat. […] Read more – ‘The Beat Goes On.’.

I awake early with the familiar feeling that a race-day brings-excitement mixed with a spot of nervousness. Today is the day for the Salomon Hammertrail Marathon on the Danish island of Bornholm which lies a couple of hours ferry ride south from the Swedish town of Ystad. Billed as ‘Denmark’s Toughest Trail Race’ the Hammertrail […] Read more – ‘Salomon Hammer Trail Marathon’.

Today is a day off from the farm. I wake early and walk through the yard, heading for the kitchen. The half light of morning gives a clue to the weather to come- cloudless skies hint at another glorious day of Canarian winter sun. I don’t get far before the dogs are hopping, barking, licking […] Read more – ‘The Trail To Tazacorte.’.

New Balance are certainly on a roll with their latest offerings- the MT110 and their zero zero Minimus line are incredibly well designed shoes. That looks certain to continue with the launch of their new Minimus model the MT1010-Amp. Here runningshoes.com talks to NB’s Brian Gothie about the upcoming minimalist trail shoe. Read more – ‘New Balance MT1010 Video’.

Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough- Charles Dudley Warner. Introduction. Excess baggage- a term to describe baggage weighing more than the allowed amount- could also describe the modern-day epidemic that is luggage with excessive amounts of features. I am talking briefcase size bags with wheels , rucksacks with back […] Read more – ‘Hummingbird Carry-On 40L’.

It being a Friday I need two things; a run and some beer. A look in my wallet reveals yet another need- money. The farm which has been my home for the last few weeks sits 600 metres above the wild Atlantic coastline- where volcano meets deep blue sea. The nearest bank-machine is in Tijarafe; […] Read more – ‘The Beer Run.’.

I first hear of the New Balance MT110 as a mention on Anton Krupricka’s blog where he stated that the as yet unreleased follow-up to the MT101 was ‘The best trail show I have ever worn’. Now, those familiar with Anton will now that that is not a hollow, marketing-hyped statement. His tinkering and carving […] Read more – ‘New Balance MT110’.

The fire lookout tower that gives this place its name gazes down on the pine forests and almighty expanse of the crater below envisioning in me scenes from Kerouac’s ‘Desolation Angels’. Its empty for the winter months even though the island is experiencing one of its driest cold seasons to date. Though vacated, it stands […] Read more – ‘Torre Del Time’.

As the lecture rooms tiered seating start to fill a tall figure slopes down the steps towards the front of the room, the way he moves and the manner in which his clothes hang on his frame marks him out as a little different to most others gathered together to listen to what Caballo Blanco, […] Read more – ‘Caballo Blanco- a man named horse.’.

The current Minimus MT10 is a great shoe but the prospect of a zero drop version is mouthwatering. I have seen some `sneak preview` type images on some sites but I stumbled upon this video on youtube that gives a little preview of what to expect from the `zero`along with a look at the new […] Read more – ‘New Balance Minimus Zero Trail’.